Ilene Winn-Lederer has finished working on a five-year book project for Pomegranate Books. Between Heaven and Earth: An Illustrated Torah Commentary will be published this summer. The project has been the biggest creative challenge of Ilene's career, and here's what she has to say about working on it:
"Since I had determined that Between Heaven & Earth: An Illustrated Torah Commentary would be primarily a work of art, I decided not to render the entire text of the Old Testament. Instead, I read extensively and repeatedly through the text in order to choose quotations that spoke to me as an artist. At that point, I requested and obtained permission to use portions of an authorized English translation in my book. I was then faced with designing the core of this project. Figuring out a visual language to express the complex codes for ethical living, the byzantine cast of characters, historical events, and codes for ethical living that is the Torah required nearly two years alone. The research, book design, and illustration became an integral part of my life, permeating even the most ordinary activities. The illustrations are rendered in what I like to call 'tradigital' media; an intuitive fusion of traditional pen and ink drawing with digital design.
Because I expected that my drawings might raise more questions than they answered, I kept detailed notes throughout the research and working process, organizing and shaping them into the cohesive, documented commentary that accompanies the illustrations. This in itself was a job equal in complexity to the visual portion of the project. The result, while completely labor-intensive, has also been a labor of love. It will, I hope, be a treasured inspirational and learning resource for generations to come."
Reviews from the following publications are available upon request:
The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle
"Since I had determined that Between Heaven & Earth: An Illustrated Torah Commentary would be primarily a work of art, I decided not to render the entire text of the Old Testament. Instead, I read extensively and repeatedly through the text in order to choose quotations that spoke to me as an artist. At that point, I requested and obtained permission to use portions of an authorized English translation in my book. I was then faced with designing the core of this project. Figuring out a visual language to express the complex codes for ethical living, the byzantine cast of characters, historical events, and codes for ethical living that is the Torah required nearly two years alone. The research, book design, and illustration became an integral part of my life, permeating even the most ordinary activities. The illustrations are rendered in what I like to call 'tradigital' media; an intuitive fusion of traditional pen and ink drawing with digital design.
Because I expected that my drawings might raise more questions than they answered, I kept detailed notes throughout the research and working process, organizing and shaping them into the cohesive, documented commentary that accompanies the illustrations. This in itself was a job equal in complexity to the visual portion of the project. The result, while completely labor-intensive, has also been a labor of love. It will, I hope, be a treasured inspirational and learning resource for generations to come."
Reviews from the following publications are available upon request:
The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle
The Baltimore Jewish Times
The Jewish Daily Forward
Hadassah Magazine
Hadassah Magazine
Heflinreps Illustration Agency
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